


The Breaking Point

by savvyliterate



Category: Slayers (anime)
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-15
Updated: 2010-09-15
Packaged: 2017-10-11 20:42:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/116890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savvyliterate/pseuds/savvyliterate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After witnessing an intimate encounter between two friends, Lina realizes the truth about her own feelings toward Gourry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Breaking Point

**Author's Note:**

> **Warning: This story contains mature themes, including a sexual encounter. If you are not comfortable with that, please turn back now.**
> 
> Author's Note: This story was my very first attempt at writing a lemon, written very slowly over the summer of 2005. I've always loved this story, but the biggest flaw is that despite wanting it, Lina and Gourry never actually had intercourse due to the author's squeamishness at the time. Bad fanfic writer! *slaps at my own wrist* It's been tugging at the back of my mind for about a year now, to rewrite this story and take it to its natural conclusion. So, if you've read this piece before, I hope you enjoy the retooling. If this is your first time, I hope you enjoy it! There's plenty for the Amelia/Zel fans here as well. This story now takes place after the ending of Slayers Evolution-R rather than Try and has spoilers for that series. And, as always, Slayers is not mine, but is generating plenty of income for Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi.

The door closed with an audible "click," followed by an exhausted sorceress leaning her head against the wood paneling. She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, then turned to survey the small room with its full-sized bed. She grinned, removing her cloak and tossing it over the back of a chair. She was grateful for the chance to enjoy some privacy. Sometimes, being around Amelia got on her nerves. Her life was usually spent crammed into one cramped room after another – either with Gourry if Amelia and Zel weren't around, Amelia herself if they were, or sometimes all four of them. More, she thought, depending on the sort of adventure they were on.

The past few days had been rough, and she was literally running on fumes. She'd been on her period, which had never been an easy time for her. Even though she had Gourry, Zelgadiss and Amelia around to cover for her if they were attacked, she still remained on her guard the entire time she was out of commission, leading to several sleepless nights.

So when they stopped at a resort that Amelia's family frequented in the eastern part of Saillune, Lina was thrilled to find out that each of them could have separate rooms. Because they were Amelia's friends, and the staff had recognized the princess on sight, their lodging was free for the first couple of nights.

Lina stretched out on the bed and clasped her hands on her stomach. She would just lie here for a few minutes before going down to get something to eat and chat with her friends. Then she would go soak in the hot springs with Amelia before coming back to her wonderful, soft bed to get hours upon hours of sleep. With any luck, she would be able to talk Zelgadiss into staying here a few days before they resumed their trip back to Saillune City. Pokota was safely back in Taforashia, rebuilding his kingdom. For once, there was no Mazoku or crazy assassins with obscure motives chasing them. They had all the time in the world to enjoy the trip.

\-----

She woke a few hours later, slightly disoriented. She cast a small Lighting spell, making it just bright enough for her to see the clock next to her bed. Lina scrubbed her hands over her eyes and groaned. She'd intended to doze for only 15 minutes or so, but it was well after midnight now. She'd be up the rest of the night. Maybe she would go prod Gourry awake and talk him into a game of cards or raiding the kitchen for a snack.

Before she could roll out of bed, her ears picked up on a noise coming from outside. Lina sat up and scowled at the window as the noise got louder and unmistakably human. Someone's having a little fun in the hot springs with his sweetheart. _Don't they know that everyone else in the inn is trying to sleep, like beautiful sorceresses? Sleep, after all, is a precious commodity._ Ignoring the fact that she woke up on her own to begin with, Lina headed to the window to yell at the inconsiderate lovers.

What she saw had her gripping the sill in shock.

She'd been spot on in guessing that two people were fooling around in the hot springs. She blinked as she saw the man take his lover's breast into his mouth while she whimpered. His other hand moved below the water, doing something that caused her to scream his name and clamp her legs around the man's hand.

Unable to watch any longer, Lina stumbled backwards until she ran into the bed. She sat down, feeling just as tired as she had been hours earlier.

The man in this case? Zelgadiss.

The woman? Amelia.

"Oh, great heavens," Lina muttered aloud as the realization sank in. Her two best friends, the same two that had been at her side for a good many of her biggest battles, were now boinking each other.

 _What a strange world._

Lina closed her eyes, did her best to wipe the images from her mind, but they wouldn't go away. It didn't help matters that the moaning was getting louder and louder. Did those two not have any respect for privacy? Then again, it was the middle of the night. Most sane people would be asleep. She should be asleep. She lay down and pulled the covers over her head.

But, the mind is a traitorous thing and Lina's was doing a very good job in deceiving her at the moment. Despite all of her willpower, she couldn't erase what was going on from her memory. She could almost see in her mind's eye what they were doing - as much as her limited knowledge regarding sex could give her.

The moans died down and Lina exhaled in relief. _Thank goodness._ She started to drift off toward sleep once again, her mind conjuring up delicious images of herself in the hot springs. She was relaxing, with a tray loaded with snacks by her side. The water was warm and soothing and so were Gourry's lips as they trailed down the side of her neck and ...

Wait a second. _Gourry?_

Lina bolted upright once more. What the hell was she doing fantasizing about Gourry, of all people? He was her best friend. Her protector. Her partner. Gourry and anything having to do with sex should be the furthest thing from her mind. He was nothing more than that. Nothing. A memory suddenly resurfaced of them sitting across a table in the fish village while she tried to insist on that and the cold, hurtful look he'd aimed at her in return as she did her best to deny any sort of feelings for him.

 _You know better_ , the look had said, and she hugged herself. She closed her eyes and sighed. She did know better. After all, one didn't cast the Giga Slave on a man's behalf if she didn't care about him in some fashion.

Lina glared at the window, blaming all of her problems on the activity going on outside of it. She tossed the covers aside, got up and stomped over to the window to throw it open and give Amelia and Zelgadiss a good piece of her mind and a Mega Brando to go along with it.

Instead, she saw more of her friends than she ever wanted to see.

Two seconds later, Lina was back on the bed, scrubbing at her eyes desperately. Any curiosity to see what a naked, aroused chimera looked like had been firmly squelched. And what Amelia had been doing to him ... she had no idea that a woman could do ... well ... that...to a man. What scarred her even more was that it was Amelia with her mouth wrapped around Zel's most private parts! The thought made her feel slightly ill and she got up to pour herself a glass of water.

A drink and a bathroom visit later, Lina tried once again to sleep. She started to feel light-headed and little by little, the noise outside faded away.

 _His mouth was on hers in a slow, lazy kiss that was building in intensity. Her hands tangled through his hair as one large palm skimmed down her back to gently caress her rear. His lips parted, urging her to take the kiss deeper, and she instinctively responded._

 _She loved every aspect of him - the hair that glinted gold in the sunlight, the eyes that were the color of the sky. He was so much taller than her and covered with muscle, used to protect and fight beside her. Her hands skimmed down his chest before coming to rest on his towel. With a flick of her wrist, it pooled to his feet. A mischievous gleam in her eyes, she started to kiss her way down his body until she reached the base of his shaft. Then..._

Her eyes snapped open and Lina shot up once more. Hand clasped over her mouth, she trembled as she realized what she had been fantasizing about. Oh Ceiphied, she had wanted to do the same thing to Gourry that Amelia had been doing to Zelgadiss.

What terrified her even worse was that even though she was awake, she still wanted it.

Lina hastily got up, throwing on the bits and pieces of clothing that she had shed before lying down earlier. The moment her cloak settled around her shoulders, she more in control of herself. She pulled on her gloves, anchored her talismans in place, and looked in the mirror to see herself – a cocky, arrogant sorceress.

She would go find herself a nice bandit camp to plunder. By the time she was back, Zel and Amelia would hopefully be in ... well, a bed, and the rest of the night would pass peacefully.

\-----

There were no bandits.

Absolutely zero.

Trembling with pent-up energy, Lina growled at everything that came into her sight - random trees, a squirrel, an owl that _dared_ hoot at her. Why couldn't there be a bandit camp? How about a roving thief? Maybe even some hapless bounty hunter. Anyone she could justify Dragon Slaving into submission! She considered simply torching the forest, but she didn't really want to put up with one of Amelia's justice speeches regarding destroying stuff needlessly. Hell, now she wished she'd woke Gourry up just to knock him around a bit. She wondered if she could justify accidentally draining the hot springs?

Said hot springs came into view and she froze. She didn't want to go back in there - not knowing what her two best friends were doing outside her window and the resident jellyfish snoozing away next door while she tossed around in her own bed making up lewd fantasies about him. It was just too weird. It was going to be even worse facing all of them over breakfast the next morning. Gourry would be the only one blissfully unaware of what happened. Lucky him, she thought enviously.

Lina collapsed on a bench in the outer gardens, leaning her head against a tree. She was so tired. It was like the three hours of sleep she'd gotten before she heard Zel and Amelia's nighttime activities had never existed. But every time she closed her eyes, the vision of her and Gourry fooling around in the hot springs reappeared. She stared at her hands, wondered about casting Sleeping on herself. Slowly, she curled them into fists. No, she couldn't do that. She was always told never to cast Sleeping on herself, because she could make it too powerful and never wake from it. Lina definitely didn't have plans to become the next Sleeping Beauty in her future.

She scrubbed her hands over her face and tried to think of natural ways to fall asleep. She could count sheep. That was the ticket! She closed her eyes and started to count.

 _One sheep ... two sheep ... three sheep ... four jellyfish ... five jellyfish ... six jellyfish ... Wait a minute. Where did the jellyfish come from?_

With a scream of frustration, Lina tugged at her bangs. "No, no, no!" she cried, her voice rising at each word. "I absolutely refuse to consider being intimate with that idiot jellyfish!"

"Lina?"

"Lina-san?"

Her hands dropped limply into her lap as she noticed Zelgadiss and Amelia, bundled into robes, staring at her. Their arms were linked and they appeared relaxed and satisfied - two things Lina definitely wasn't feeling at the moment. Magic welled in her hands. At least she had an excuse to use it now!

" _Burst Rondo!_ "

\-----

Breakfast was a silent affair. Zelgadiss and Amelia were both angry at Lina for the Burst Rondo she shot at them, though it had missed due to her exhaustion. Lina kept falling asleep during the meal, her face landing in a bowl of oatmeal at one point. Gourry, who had slept blissfully through the entire thing, plowed his way through three extra-large platters of food like nothing was amiss in his world.

Gourry paused in the middle of wolfing down scrambled eggs and wondered if he should even venture asking what they were going to do today. More than five years of traveling with Lina Inverse had taught him one very good thing - keep your mouth shut when it matters. Instead, he simply relieved Lina of her food and kept eating.

Lina considered randomly tossing a spell at Gourry following that move. He looked so cheerful and it made her feel even worse. How dare he be cheerful when she was miserable! Didn't he even have a clue of the misery that she was feeling? She stood up abruptly, knocking her chair back in the process. She jabbed her finger at him, lacking the energy to conjure up a spell. "You are such an idiot," she informed him, then stomped upstairs.

He watched her go, shrugged and returned to eating. "I figured she'd be madder for me stealing her food."

"At least she didn't cast a Burst Rondo on you," Zelgadiss muttered and poured a second cup of coffee.

Amelia pushed the remains of her breakfast around her plate as she tried to analyze the situation. Lina had acted like her normal self when she went to her room the night before. Then she and Zelgadiss had come across her shortly before dawn, yelling about how she refused to be intimate with the jellyfish - Gourry naturally. Then, out of embarrassment, Lina had tried to Burst Rondo both her and Zelgadiss. That was a normal reaction for her.

When did Lina-san sleep last? Amelia mulled it over. She knew Lina had been on her period until the day before. Whenever she lost her powers, she slept poorly, prepared to face anyone willing to attack her during her down time. It was the main reason Amelia had suggested the resort, to help her friend relax and finally get the rest she so needed. She had barely recovered from casting the Giga Slave to save them once again as is.

Amelia excused herself from the table and headed up her room. She straightened up the few items she'd brought with her and pushed aside the lace curtains covering the window. There was such a nice view of the hot springs from here. She could sit on the plush window seat and ...

Her eyes widened as the last piece of the puzzle snapped into place. _The hot springs!_

Mortified, Amelia sank onto her bed. Her room and Lina's both overlooked the hot springs - the very hot springs where she and Zelgadiss had made love hours earlier. She remembered catching a glimpse of curtains fluttering in the breeze during their activities, but thought they had been from her own window. Instead, it had been from her best friend's.

It explained one question - why Lina had been out in the garden so early in the morning. She'd heard the interaction and instead of yelling at them, she'd simply left. The small act touched Amelia and made her feel better about flaunting her newfound relationship under Lina's nose.

 _"I absolutely refuse to consider being intimate with that idiot jellyfish!"_

Amelia considered Lina's words. She got up, paced as she thought of the interaction between Lina and Gourry. Sometimes, they seemed little more than the best friends that they were. Other times, the sexual tension was so thick that Amelia wanted to scream at them to hurry up and do something about it – especially when they had been in that fish village. She thought about Zelgadiss and the road to their current, very new relationship. She stopped, a smile tugging at her lips.

 _Lina-san is so in denial._

Pulling a trick that she knew Lina used herself; Amelia placed her hand on the wall between her room and Lina's and muttered the Sleeping spell. After a few minutes, she peeked next door. Satisfied that she was finally getting the sleep she'd sought for so long, Amelia pulled Lina's door shut and headed back downstairs. She had some planning to do.

\-----

During the afternoon, Amelia stepped out of the inn's kitchens, a tray nearly overflowing with food in her hands. She caught sight of the clock over the mantel in the main room and grinned. If her estimations were correct, Lina would be starting to wake up pretty soon.

She scanned the room, caught sight of the man she needed. "Gourry-san!"

He had his back to her, talking to Zelgadiss. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of his name, his eyes nearly dancing when he noticed the food. "Wow, that's a lot of food!"

"It is!" Amelia carefully carried the tray over and thrust it at him. "It's enough for you and Lina-san. She's been asleep for eight hours now. I figured she's either just getting up or she will be soon. In any case, she probably would love having lunch served to her in bed. There's some extra on there for you as well."

"Thanks, Amelia!" Gourry accepted the tray and got to his feet. Amelia nearly gawked at the ease he carried the weight. It had nearly killed her arms just to cross the room with it.

Zelgadiss waited until Gourry had disappeared up the stairs before turning a cryptic eye to Amelia. "What was that all about?"

"Would you like some lemonade, Zelgadiss-san?" Amelia started to edge toward the kitchen. "I believe the cook said that she just made a new batch and they have the most lovely lemonade here and ..."

"Amelia."

She froze. "Yes, Zelgadiss-san?"

"Are you trying to start something between Lina and Gourry?" He drummed his fingers on his thighs.

Amelia bit her lip as she carefully orchestrated her answer. "I don't understand what you mean.

"You understand perfectly what I mean. Amelia, if you meddle in their business, you're going to wind up making a complete mess of things. He's a big boy and she's a big girl. They'll figure it out eventually."

"Yeah, but ... in this case, I think we're the ones causing this to happen." Amelia took Gourry's empty seat and began to tell Zelgadiss what she guessed Lina had seen the night before.

Gourry couldn't help but sneak a few pieces of food off the tray as he carried it up the stairs. If Lina had anything to say about it, he could simply tell her what Amelia said about some of the food being for him. He had to get some of his share now, or else he wouldn't get any at all.

Shifting the tray to one arm, he knocked on her door. "Lina?"

He heard some shifting, then a slight creaking of bed come from within. "Gourry..."

She sounded a bit strange to him, but he quickly brushed it aside. She was probably just waking up. Everyone was acting strange to him today, but there were just some days when that seemed natural for this group. Gourry tested the knob, saw that it was unlocked, and figured that she wanted him to come in, especially since she said his name once again as he did so. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Hey, Amelia sent up this tray of food for you," he said as he shifted the tray back to both hands, nudged the door shut with his foot and spotted a small table across the room. "She said some of it was for me, so don't go hogging ..."

"Gourry..."

He glanced over at the bed and froze in mid-step. She wasn't awake, he realized. She was definitely sleeping. She was sprawled out on the mattress, the sheets tangled around her legs. Her arms reached out, as if trying to grab onto something. He frowned. Is she having a nightmare? Gourry knew that Lina got violent in her sleep. Amelia had come to breakfast several times with a black eye thanks to her, and he had shared a room with Lina on occasion as well.

She moaned his name again and a plea to keep doing more of something that she didn't name. He sucked in a quick breath when he realized that she wasn't having a nightmare, but the exact opposite. She shifted on the mattress, her hands cupping her breasts as she called for him again. His gaze drifted from her flushed face to the nipples that jutted against the thin cloth of her tunic and the restless movements of her lower body. Then his eyes moved back up on their own accord and locked on her rolling her nipples slowly between two fingers.

His own response was immediate and painful. Burning need swept through his body and his grip on the tray tightened to the point where the dishes on it rattled. The blood began to hum beneath his skin and the vision of walking over and taking over the task of paying attention to her breasts was so strong that he had taken two steps in her direction without realizing it at first. Automatically, he backed away from the bed, knowing that if he hadn't had the tray in his hands ...

Suddenly, Lina's eyes opened, glazed and out of focus. After a moment, they cleared as she realized she wasn't dreaming any longer. She sprang into a sitting position, pressed a hand to her heaving chest. "Not again," she moaned. "Why is this happening now?" She rubbed her face, glanced up and spotted Gourry standing a few feet away with the loaded food tray in his hands.

Her hands fell to the bed as she gawked at him. "G ... G ... _Gourry?_ "

He swallowed and wasn't quite sure how to react. But, knowing that a fireball was most likely in his future, Gourry put the tray on the small table in the corner, his body acting on its own while his mind reeled from what he had just seen. "Um ... here's some lunch," he stammered and beat a hasty retreat.

The sound of the door slamming shut jerked Lina out of her shock and she sprang out of bed. She grabbed the knob, ready to yank it open and yell at him. Instead, she turned, leaned against it and pressed her hands to her face.

Gourry leaned against the other side of the door, calling himself several different kinds of fool. What sort of man would walk away from a woman who was dreaming about him, a dream that obviously left her aroused? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get rid of the image of those small, pert breasts that he secretly adored thrusting against the thin cloth of her tunic as she called for him in her dream world.

He pushed himself off the door, headed for the stairs. He couldn't do that to her. He wanted too much. He wanted to wake up with her beside him, to laugh, to kiss and do all of the things a couple did ... hell that Amelia and Zelgadiss were doing now. He'd wanted it for so damn long, to be able to love her with everything that he had. He couldn't think of a time when she didn't fill his dreams, or his fantasies, except for the first few weeks of their friendship.

But if she truly knew what was in his heart for her, she could very well refuse it and would ditch him. After all, she took every chance she could to emphatically deny any sort of romantic feelings for him. If she actually said that to his face, it would destroy him.

Amelia and Zelgadiss looked up from their chess game as Gourry stumbled down the stairs. They rose when they noticed him visibly shaking.

"Something's wrong," Zelgadiss muttered, but Amelia was already halfway up the stairs.

He intercepted Gourry right before he ran into the table. "What's wrong? Is Lina ill? Amelia's gone up to check on her."

The firm voice shook Gourry from his daze and he blinked a few times to clear his vision. He glanced around, surprised to find himself downstairs, then noticed Zelgadiss in front of him. Using every bit of control he possessed, he mustered a half-hearted smile for him. "She's just getting up. I walked in on her at a bad time. I think I need to go for a walk. Or get drunk. Or both."

Zelgadiss looked after him as he headed outside, then turned to watch a worried Amelia come back down the stairs. "Is Lina okay?"

"Lina-san said she wanted to be alone," Amelia sighed. "I'm starting to wonder if my plan backfired."

\-----

Lina curled up on one of the low stone benches that were set into the hot springs. She had waited until after Amelia had gone in her bedroom for the night before she headed out to use them. She didn't want company right now. She needed to sit and sulk on her own.

She couldn't even remember the dream that she had been having when she woke up and saw Gourry standing in the room. Whatever it had been, it'd been enough for him to guess that she had been dreaming about him - and it wasn't a dream where they were conquering treasure either. No, they were going after each other in her fantasies.

 _He must think I'm a sick person_ , she thought miserably. He had every right to believe it as well. He was the most important person in the world to her. That much she couldn't deny. She had risked everything for him against Hellmaster Phibrizzo and won. And, yes, she loved him. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was the truth. Lina drew her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.

She'd always known on some level that he loved her. He'd told her that he'd wait for her when Wizer had nearly thrown her in jail. There was his reaction during the confrontation with Kuppi. There was all of his words, encouragement and belief in her throughout the years … and a very faint, dream-like memory of something special happening after she'd cast the Giga Slave against Phibrizzo.

She could still be wrong. After all, there was different types of love. They teased each other all the time. There was a huge difference between loving each other as friends and loving each other as lovers. After all, he was seven years older than she was. He could easily just see her as the little sister he never had. If she stepped wrong, tried to force something to happen that wasn't there, she could lose him. Her grip on her legs tightened. She would do anything to prevent that, including denying the hell out of any physical attraction she had for him. _Besides, you've done a splendid job doing that for the past couple of years to begin with, Lina-chan!_

Lina heard someone moving around in the changing area and sighed. It was probably Amelia. She stood and climbed out of the water when she heard footsteps on the path connecting it to the hot springs. "Hey, Amelia, I was just ...," her voice died away as Gourry stepped into view, wearing nothing but a towel. His eyes widened and he froze, proving that seeing her was just as much of a surprise to him as it was to her.

Her mind began to process what was going on in front of her.

 _Situation: The object of your desire is standing approximately six feet away from you wearing nothing but a towel. You are also wearing nothing but a towel - a wet one at that. Do you A) scream and call him a pervert before fireballing his ass into the next town, B) throw yourself at him or C) stand in shock as you try to figure out option D._

Lina decided on option C, but figured that option A was pretty damn appealing as well.

It was Zelgadiss and Amelia's fault, that much was for sure. If they hadn't decided to fool around themselves, especially in the hot springs where they could be seen and heard by unsuspecting sorceresses - namely herself – thus causing a chain reaction leading to this very situation! So what now?

She turned away from him, horror inching through her body. She knew her response to this would either make or break the situation. If she allowed him to leave, she was firmly drawing the boundaries of what their relationship was. They would never be more than friends. But could that friendship survive this? Hell, could anything survive this? Whether or not they took that chance, things would never be the same between them again.

She squeezed her eyes shut, searched desperately for any sort of guidance. Instead, she heard the soft slap of bare feet against brick as he started to walk away.

Something inside her snapped.

Lina pivoted, raced toward him. She leaped at him, locking her arms around his waist. She couldn't stop the tears from leaking out, was horrified and ashamed at them. Damn it, she wasn't about to become some weak and weepy damsel in distress!

His muscles rippled beneath her grip as she tried to channel everything she wanted to say into her fierce hug. Slowly, Gourry reached down and covered her hands with his own.

From the second floor, Amelia gripped the windowsill so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Behind her, Zelgadiss sighed and continued to change for bed. "Leave them alone, Amelia. It's private."

"If they don't get together, it's all my fault."

"No, it's not." He moved over to her, rested his hands on her shoulders. "Those two have always been like this, not to mention..." His voice died away as he watched his two best friends turn to each other.

He coughed and averted his gaze when he noticed how little either of them wore. "Amelia?"

Tears ran down her cheeks. Amelia gave Zelgadiss a blazingly bright smile. "Now all's right with the world."

He took her by the elbow and steered her toward the door. "I think you should stay in my room tonight."

\-----

Gourry turned, breaking the hold that she had on him. He'd been convinced when she turned away from him that she was rejecting him. He'd started to walk away, knowing that it was the end of the matter. But when she had suddenly thrown her arms around him, he started to let himself believe. If this was some type of joke, he didn't think he'd be able to handle it. But when she raised her eyes to his and saw his own pain and misery reflected back at him, hope started to rise.

 _Maybe she does want me after all ..._

There was only one way to find out.

He bent down to her, amazed at how short she was. Even standing on her toes, the top of her head barely brushed his shoulder. Eyes drifting shut, he brushed his mouth against hers. When she didn't pull away, he pressed his lips fully to hers. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she started to kiss him back.

Her fingers threaded through his hair as she changed the angle to explore him just a little bit more. As she did so, her lips parted slightly, allowing him to take the kiss deeper. Her eyes snapped open wide for a moment with shock as he showed her a difference facet of being kissed. Tentatively, she began to probe back, satisfied with the resulting whimper coming from him.

His hands skimmed over the rough, wet towel that still clung to her. He reached her bottom and, cupping his hands beneath her, pulled her closer. She broke away with a gasp as she came in contact with him and felt how his body had changed. He chuckled and took the chance to press a string of kisses down the side of her neck, his tongue flicking out with each nibble of his lips. She clung to his shoulders and whimpered as her knees threatened to give out.

When he reached her shoulder, he simply held her close, enjoyed the feeling of being able to touch her this way and not be thrown across the room or blasted out of it via spell. He combed his fingers through her drying hair before burying his nose in it. He took comfort in it before pulling back and giving her a scowl.

Her jaw dropped. She hadn't seen a look that fierce from him since they'd been in Kuppi's house. "What?" she asked, horrified that her voice had barely come out higher than a whisper.

"I'm tired of your attitude about us," he said, his voice hoarse. "If we do something, you're not going to deny this any longer."

"I think I've come to that conclusion in the past 12 hours or so …"

"No." His grip tightened on her upper arms where he gripped her. "You keep saying it again and again. I'm just your protector. I'm nothing more than that. I'm sick of it, Lina."

Now she was nose to nose with him, aided by an unconscious use of the Levitation spell. "If you removed that stupid jellyfish brain that you've somehow surgically planted up your ass, you'd realize that maybe I want you."

"Lina, you're the reason why denial isn't just a river in the Desert of Destruction." He eased back, giving her a look of such longing that her heart ached. "I don't want you doing this because what happened between Zel and Amelia caused you to get horny."

Her eyes widened. "How did you …?"

"I'm not an idiot," he snapped. "They've been sneaking out together since we were staying in Taforashia." He chuckled a bit. "Why am I not surprised it took you this long to notice?"

Before Lina could ruminate on that, Gourry's grip on her eased for a moment before pulling her into a desperate embrace. He squeezed her so tightly that she had to gasp for air. "I love you so much," he confessed. "I don't want to lose you because you don't feel the same way. I'd do anything, including pretend that this never happened, if it means that we can stay together. I don't know what I'd do if …"

Now she was the one who scowled, she let the spell go and her feet touched back on the ground. "You really are an idiot if you think for one moment that I'm letting you out of my sight." She tugged on his hair until he yelped, his head jerked down, and they were nose to nose once more. "I'm the one who stuck around when that stupid Kuppi was duping us all. I cast the Giga Slave to save your ass, and I'd do it again. Do you really think that I don't love you too?"

The tenseness left him and he smiled at her with such warmth that her heart leaped. "Lina …"

"Look. Maybe I've known about this on some level all along. I just …" She bit her lip for a moment, not quite wanting to voice her fear that he only saw her as a younger sibling, then pulled away slightly as she realized something else. They had crossed the line and then some. They were going to be intimate, and ... "Do you … If we do this …"

He ran his hand through her hair, knowing her well enough to figure out what was bothering her. "Just because we feel this way doesn't mean we have to run for the altar or give up traveling." He felt her relax and smiled with satisfaction. "You've got ways of protecting yourself."

She arched an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

He gave her a knowing smile that eerily reminded her of Xelloss. "Lina, you didn't think I haven't had any experience before, did you?"

She eyed him – his gorgeous looks and toned body, then remembered his years around mercenaries. She shrugged, laughed a bit. "Guess you've got me there. At least one of us knows what we're doing. And, you're right. I've been taking a potion for months. Not," she hastily explained, "because of fantasies which may or may not have been occurring for the past couple of years. But, every woman who travels alone is advised to take it in case they're assaulted."

He stared at her, one of her hands holding her towel up while she stared at him with resolve and determination. Really believing in this for the first time, he ghosted his fingers over her forehead, cheek, then her chin. He tipped her face up, surprised a bit that she allowed him dominance over the situation. He gently nuzzled her cheek, then the corner of her lips before kissing her once more. It started off as gentle, the intensity increasing until she threw both her arms around his neck to enthusiastically return it. He felt the towel drop and her warm, naked body was pressed to his.

She was sort much shorter than him, and the bending over was starting to ache. He straightened, eyed a short stone wall separating the hot springs from the changing area and boosted her onto it. It didn't occur to him to seek out either of their beds. That was too far away, and he didn't want her to change her mind.

"Gourry, what are you do …," Lina started to question, then lost her train of thought as he started kissing his way down her neck once more. He pulled back a bit, then splayed his fingers over her left breast. Fascinated, she watched as he drew his fingers together until her nipple was caught between his fingertips. Then he pinched, hard, and she gasped as her body jerked in response. He slowly rolled his fingers, enjoying the look of immense pleasure as she closed her eyes and her toes curled against his legs.

"Don't you dare stop that," she ordered, but he didn't listen. Instead, he replaced his hand with his mouth, using his teeth to bring even further pleasure. He heard her croon his name and she rocked against him as he paid attention to first one breast, then the other. His now-freed hands skimmed over her waist and hips, then between her thighs, which opened willingly for him. He slowly eased a finger between her folds, finding her wet for him, and isn't that the most amazing thing in the world, he thought with wonder. He curled his finger until his knuckle pressed against the most intimate part of her body and rubbed. His fingers were coated with the wet heat, and he wanted her so badly that for a moment, he thought he would orgasm just on the feel of her alone. He let his knuckle slowly uncurl, then slipped his finger inside of her.

Her hands, which had made their way back into his hair, jerked so hard that he was sure there'd be a bald spot in the morning. Her hips began to gyrate beneath him as she pressed herself as hard as she could against his hand, realizing with amazement that having him do this to her was far better than fingering herself. He lifted his face, watched fascinated as she whimpered in response to the slow thrusting. He added a second finger, his thumb angling up to manipulate her, and was rewarded with a high-pitched whine.

"Wait ... it's becoming too much ...," she managed, squirming in an attempt to both get closer and away, to maintain some semblance of control over the situation. The pad of his thumb rubbed her in such a way that it was nearly unbearably sensitive, but she wanted more.

His head snapped up at her words, but when he saw the flushed look on her face, a feral grin spread across his. He drew in one of her nipples into his mouth, catching the pebbled nub between his teeth as he flicked it with his tongue, mirroring what his thumb was doing to her. Then he pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses up her breast, over her collarbone, the side of her face, then lightly nibbled on her earlobe before blowing in her ear. "You're not the one in control now, Lina," he whispered.

He couldn't wait any longer. He'd wanted her for years, and his self-control was quickly ebbing. And, damn it, he didn't want to finish off in a towel. He'd done that enough over the years. He slowly removed his fingers, enjoying the resulting protest as she pinched him to let him know her displeasure, let his towel drop, then eased himself between her legs so his erection pressed against her intimately. He closed his eyes, dropping his face to her shoulder as one hand lazily stroked her back. He pressed his lips to her neck, then the underside of her chin, then fully kissed her once more as he reached between them to guide himself inside her.

He wanted to make it last. He'd needed her for so long, and he wanted her to crave more intimacy in the future. But the moment he slid into her, nature took over and he drove himself into her with a hard thrust. She gasped in surprise, but neither one stated the obvious fact that there was no resistance to their joining. With as much physical activity as she'd been engaged in, and especially with the amount of near-mortal injuries that she'd suffered, Lina having any sort of a maidenshead would had been a true shock.

He stilled, waited for her to adjust to him, but it was so very hard. She was so very wet, so very tight, and her muscles rippled around him in a way that he whined from the sheer pleasure. He felt her body relax around him after a moment and when her hand lazily drifted up and down his back, he took it as a sign for him to continue. He moved within her, gradually increasing the pace as he let his body take over. He felt her trying to respond, her hips roll to meet his and nearly catapulting herself off the wall. He wanted to go slow, to take his time, but it'd been so very long and he'd wanted her so very much … He gasped her name as his release suddenly overtook him, the force of it so strong that he nearly toppled both of them to the ground.

She pinched him a bit, whimpering a bit as arousal still humming through her veins. She knew there had to be more, at least for her. After all, she'd been taking care of her own needs for several years. No matter if it was haggling over merchandise or having sex, Lina knew she wasn't going to walk away without getting her end of the deal. "You're hogging all the fun," she complained.

Wearily, Gourry lifted his head, amused at the look of pure indignation. He dropped a kiss to the corner of her mouth, then each of her nipples. "Did it hurt?" he asked softly.

"Not really. I've had worse things impale me."

He chuckled as he knelt, kissing her stomach. "It'll last much longer next time. Trust me." He pressed another kiss to the damp curls at the apex of her thighs.

"I'll take your word on that," she gasped as he eased her legs apart and simply looked at her. Her folds glistened with moisture, a combination of both him and her. He brushed his lips over the inside of her thighs, feeling the muscles quiver beneath them. Then he turned his attention to the very core of her, treating her to one long sweep of his tongue that made her gasp and nearly pull his hair out again. With a small hum of pleasure, he explored her folds with small licks, purposefully avoiding the bundle of nerves that seemed to strain for him. Just when she thought she was about to go insane, he wrapped his lips firmly around her and sucked hard.

She came with a scream, not caring who heard her. He prolonged the orgasm by nibbling and licking at her until she finally shoved him back so hard that he landed on the ground. She gripped the wall tightly, trying hard not to tumble from her perch as she caught her breath. When she cracked open one eye, it was to see her very self-satisfied partner sprawled before her, grinning at her. "Enjoy that?" he asked with a smirk.

"A little," she grinned back at him. Her balance steadied and he got to his feet. He pulled her into an embrace and they stayed like that, content to share the afterglow of their encounter. His hand lazily stroked her hair, and Lina thought she'd be perfectly happy to stay like this for a very long time. For once, there was something in life better than raiding a bandit camp, and far more satisfying that casting a difficult spell.

Soon, the comfortable feeling was replaced by the soreness of sitting on the wall and the night chill. Gourry helped Lina down and they picked up their discarded towels. Lina wasn't quite sure how either of them would react after sharing such intimacy, but was pleased to see that the easy camaraderie between them hadn't changed. They quickly showered off together, chatting about this and that while they bundled themselves into robes and gathered their dirty clothes.

"So, since it's pretty obvious that Amelia and Zel are sharing a room together tonight," Lina wrapped her arm through Gourry's, "your room or mine?"

"Mine would probably be best. Zel would be more likely to ignore things than Amelia."

They headed upstairs, stopping by Lina's room long enough to collect her pajamas. They donned their nightclothes and slipped into bed together. Her head was tucked in the crook of his shoulder and he curled himself around her, content to lazily caress her thigh. He gently kissed her and she closed her eyes, snuggling close to him as sleep began to overtake both.

Then the squeaking began.

They warily opened their eyes as the headboard from the room next door slammed into the adjoining wall, punctuated by cries of ecstasy.

Lina moaned, sitting up and scowling at the wood. She swore she could see it vibrate. "I'm going to fireball those idiots."

"We'll get thrown out of the resort if you do." Gourry tugged her back down until she was curled into his side once more. "I heard they're serving pancakes on the buffet tomorrow."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? Well ... we could go to my room. Though it feels kind of creepy, knowing what Zel and Amelia are doing."

"They're doing it because they probably heard us," he observed, then laughed at the shocked look on her face. He lightly tapped her nose. "You weren't exactly quiet about it, you know." She gave a quiet "harumph" and he grinned. From the room next door, they heard one last feminine scream, and an answering masculine shout. Then there was nothing but the chirping of crickets outside. Gourry reached over Lina to extinguish the candle on the nightstand, and they cuddled together in the dark.

"Say Lina?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you think Amelia's still calling him, 'Zelgadiss-san'?"

She yawned. "Who knows? Maybe it's some type of weird fetish." She closed her eyes. The steady beat of his heart lulled her into a natural sleep for the first time in days.


End file.
